Post: #1

I need a day job till August and im thinking this would be an easy / viable option. I have a business degree so thats a plus.

Anyone have a experience or know about the insurance field? ie which actual jobs are the best / pay the most, is it better to work for a company or work independent ect.

I know im gonna have to take a test an get licensed.

Post: #2

(12-09-2011 07:11 PM)Dash Global Wrote:  I need a day job till August and im thinking this would be an easy / viable option. I have a business degree so thats a plus.

Anyone have a experience or know about the insurance field? ie which actual jobs are the best / pay the most, is it better to work for a company or work independent ect.

I know im gonna have to take a test an get licensed.

Dash,

I, some time ago, sold my independent insurance practice. I had worked for State Farm (in the USA), and then decided to open an independent brokerage as the money in commercial contracts is a lot better in commissions/residuals. Couple questions for you... What specifically are you going to be doing? Are you going to be working for an agent or are you going to be an agent. What are you being offered? Do you have a network you can call upon/how are you going to grow your business? The Insurance route is lucrative for the long haul but for a short term gig I am not sure... An example a family friend is a State Farm agent who because of his contract/how he built his agency/his staff/and etc. lives outside the United States for 9 months out of the year and still collects 20k/month. When he started his agency he worked 12-15 hours per day and had to sink huge sums of money into it. He will have that agency as long as State Farm keeps its agency model which... who knows... I choose the commercial/independent route specifically because my bonuses/commissions were higher and I could sell my business. I also could offer almost any product I wanted instead of being limited.... Regarding becoming an Agent, I would suggest answering what you want from it... Feel free to pm me! I would be happy to talk to you about anything in particular. Good Luck!

Post: #3

I want to train as an actuary after university. Well paid right from the start and good part time opportunities once qualified.

5 years training though

Post: #4

Wrendan,

I have just decided to give this a go. Until the past few days I knew nothing about the Insurance field, and still dont know much. Primarily im looking for a stable day job that pays well to supplement my income from serving at night.

From briefly looking online it appears my options are as follows.

1) Insurance Agent (Independent / Non-Independent)

2) Insurance Adjuster

3) Insurance Underwriter

To be an agent I would have to get licensed.

For the other two options no licensed is required with it being generally accepted that you need a college degree preferably in Business Administration. Which I posses.

What advice would you give in my situation?

Post: #5

if you are just looking to make quick money between now and August dont do this. starting an insurance business is like building a business - you need to develop a client base. it takes a while to build. if you are just looking for something short term this probably isnt a very good option and you could probably make more money doing something else.

Post: #6

Being a adjuster and underwriter wouldnt be starting an insurance business. It would be a reg 9-5 job working for an insurance company. Not sales related.

Post: #7

(12-11-2011 02:32 PM)Dash Global Wrote:  Being a adjuster and underwriter wouldnt be starting an insurance business. It would be a reg 9-5 job working for an insurance company. Not sales related.

You need to have experience with what you are adjusting or underwriting.
Like a auto claim adjuster would have to have experience with collision etc.

Post: #8

I'm in the same situation as you are Dash. I was looking for a job that would tide me over 'til mid-next year. The only hourly/flexible stuff I found was in sales.

I have a family member who worked for BLC, and she ended up spending as much money as she made selling. It's highly dependent upon which territory you sell in. She had a grimy area, so sales were very low-percentage, and people would often cease paying on their second payment. Another family member did it while laid-off and they had him selling to family and people with whom he had previously worked with at the factory.

I personally was contacted by a couple more legit companies(can't exactly remember the names) and did more research before agreeing to meet with them. From what I understand, there was so much turnover that they didn't bother to have interviews(group seminars) or invest in training. The more extreme accusations were that they were hiring people strictly to burn though their family/friends/connections before moving on to the next employee. The pro's I saw were that some of the companies were willing to pay for CFP/Series7/Series63/Series66 licenses, which are about 100 a pop.

I declined and ended up finding some data entry contract work at an insurance company with a temp service that has weekly paychecks. Slow doe is better than no doe.

Post: #9

insurance is soo boring... i have my property and casalty lisnce for the state of california. it can be good decent money after you build your client base up, but there is no creativity. it will always be there because people will alawys need insurance.

Post: #10

(12-11-2011 02:38 PM)el mechanico Wrote:  

(12-11-2011 02:32 PM)Dash Global Wrote:  Being a adjuster and underwriter wouldnt be starting an insurance business. It would be a reg 9-5 job working for an insurance company. Not sales related.

You need to have experience with what you are adjusting or underwriting.
Like a auto claim adjuster would have to have experience with collision etc.

Most companies provide in-house training and you can get jobs without experience from what I have read. Main thing is having a degree with course work in business admin.

Post: #11

(12-11-2011 04:06 PM)Dash Global Wrote:  

(12-11-2011 02:38 PM)el mechanico Wrote:  

(12-11-2011 02:32 PM)Dash Global Wrote:  Being a adjuster and underwriter wouldnt be starting an insurance business. It would be a reg 9-5 job working for an insurance company. Not sales related.

You need to have experience with what you are adjusting or underwriting.
Like a auto claim adjuster would have to have experience with collision etc.

Most companies provide in-house training and you can get jobs without experience from what I have read. Main thing is having a degree with course work in business admin.

I work in the insurance industry, and no you're not getting into an underwriting spot unless you have prior experience in the industry (specifically underwriting) or an Ivy degree at this point in time. They usually hire from within, plus the idea of hiring someone who would leave next August wouldn't sit well with the hiring manager of a claims or underwriting dept. Might just look for 'intake' type positions or customer admin positions that have shorter training periods, higher turnover and lower stress.

Post: #12

I would def not be telling any employer I was leaving in August lol

Post: #13

Exactly. Underwriters are either experienced insurance workers or actuaries with specific degrees around estimating risk, mathematics etc

The way to become an underwriter without a specific degree is to undertake a training program with an insurance company, which will take 6 months (in Europe anyway). During this time you probably wont be paid much.

I dont think this is a good short term money making plan.

Post: #14

Dash, honestly insurance is a long term business/career path. You have to build the business and it takes time and money. A lot of companies will pay for your licensing and provide some amount of cash initially which could help you through till August. However the real money doesn't come until later in your career. The only exceptions are if you are selling huge contracts of property and casualty or Life/Health/Variable (i.e. condo associations, apartments, trucking companies, medium to large businesses, large permanent cash value life insurance cases (this particularly has lots of bonus money attached to it)). The underwriters/claims people I worked with SF/independently were on the fire/homeowners side construction/builder/engineer/actuarial/risk managers types and the auto claims people were a combination of former service workers to auto estimatics/body shop/mechanics. I also am not sure about the licensing requirements for that. Check with your State Insurance Commissioners office.

One interesting opportunity I considered when I was younger was becoming a catastrophe claims rep. Basically you are shipped to whatever town got a tornado/hurricane/wildfire through it. That can be interesting.

Actuarial science is a great opportunity if you are so inclined, however it is extremely boring. Running the probability of X type of event occurring is not my idea of interesting. The pay is very good initially, but the money in the long run doesn't equal what a producer can make.

Post: #15

Dash,

Maybe you could study Actuarial Science for 4 years and then offer bang probabilities to guys in night clubs:

Game level 7.6 * HB8 - (probability of LMR) * 12 = 34% of SNL


Takeda

Post: #16

(12-09-2011 07:11 PM)Dash Global Wrote:  I need a day job till August and im thinking this would be an easy / viable option. I have a business degree so thats a plus.

Anyone have a experience or know about the insurance field? ie which actual jobs are the best / pay the most, is it better to work for a company or work independent ect.

I know im gonna have to take a test an get licensed.

Do something else.

I mean sales is always a good move if you're trying to get your game to the next level, but there are so many other things you can do with your life.

Post: #17

(12-11-2011 12:40 PM)dulst Wrote:  I want to train as an actuary after university. Well paid right from the start and good part time opportunities once qualified.

5 years training though

That's including university, right? For the first actuarial exam, I've heard if you've taken upper level stat or probability classes, you can pass. The other ones, not so much. Being an actuary pays well, but you're going to be spending a lot of time in the office.

A degree in actuarial science is so specialized that you really can't do anything else with it if you get burnt out in 5 years. Insurance, risk management, etc. But if you want to further your education, you can probably end up working in the financial sector or government agency. Why not major in math and minor in finance or econ? That will open up a lot of doors for you if you're interested in quantitative stuff like being an actuary.

Post: #18

(12-12-2011 04:46 PM)UgSlayer Wrote:  

(12-11-2011 12:40 PM)dulst Wrote:  I want to train as an actuary after university. Well paid right from the start and good part time opportunities once qualified.

5 years training though

That's including university, right? For the first actuarial exam, I've heard if you've taken upper level stat or probability classes, you can pass. The other ones, not so much. Being an actuary pays well, but you're going to be spending a lot of time in the office.

A degree in actuarial science is so specialized that you really can't do anything else with it if you get burnt out in 5 years. Insurance, risk management, etc. But if you want to further your education, you can probably end up working in the financial sector or government agency. Why not major in math and minor in finance or econ? That will open up a lot of doors for you if you're interested in quantitative stuff like being an actuary.

I'm doing a BSc in Theoretical Physics. 3 Year degree with a ton of boss level maths and statistics. After uni if I get an actuarial job, I would be a "trainee actuary" for a further 2 - 5 years. In this time you work, study in your free time and take professional exams. A trainee actuary's salary is about £35000 p/a which here is damn good for a 21y/o graduate to earn as a first salary.

Once qualified salaries approach £45k, but assuming I reach that point I think I'd opt for a lower salary but part time hours. Low cost redpill lifestyle etc.

Post: #19

I know this to be true, I am currently working contract/temporarily at an insurance company in Michigan. Hap, blue cross, AAA, and metlife are the places that post job opportunities somewhat frequently. There is a mix of jobs for which licensing is/isn't required. I wish you the best of luck in your job hunt.